Here is this week’s news quiz. Good luck!
1. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked which two nations earlier this week, killing more than 6,000 people?
Spoiler
Turkey and Syria. The devastating earthquake took place on Monday night, destroying thousands of structures and killing more than 6,200 people along the Turkish-Syrian border. The United States, China, and various Gulf nations have pledged help and relief supplies to help both nations. The World Health Organization (WHO) fears that more than 20,000 people may have been killed in the disaster and 23 million people could be affected in some way.
2. Which Republican delivered the rebuttal to President Biden’s State of the Union last night?
Spoiler
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as former President Donald Trump’s White House Press Secretary from 2017-2019. Sanders recently took office, winning the governorship over Chris Jones and becoming the first female governor in Arkansas history. Her father, Mike Huckabee, was also a former Arkanas governor.
3. What demands are some Peruvian rebels making to their government before they dismantle roadblocks in the country?
Spoiler
The peasant rebels in Peru are demanding that President Dina boluarte resign, Congress be dissolved, fresh elections be held, and there be a rewriting of Peru’s constitution. Peru has been in turmoil since December 7 when President Pedro Castillo, a leftist with support from the nation’s indigenous and rural peoples, tried to dissolve Congress.
4. What did the Biden administration eventually do about the Chinese spy balloon that crossed over the United States last week?
Spoiler
It shot the balloon down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday afternoon. The balloon, the size of three school buses, is not the first time that a Chinese airship has crossed into U.S. territory as American officials revealed earlier this week that at least three Chinese balloons crossed into U.S. territory over the last six years. Republicans criticized the slow response, arguing that Biden should have shot the balloon down before it entered U.S. airspace near Alaska.
5. What crime has actor Alec Baldwin charged with?
Spoiler
Involuntary manslaughter. The charge stems from the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of a Western film called Rust in 2021. Baldwin faces two counts of involuntary manslaughter for firing the weapon, a weapon that he was told was not loaded. However, prosecutors argue that Baldwin still had a responsibility to make sure that the revolver he was using “was safe to handle.”
6. Which change does French President Emmanuel Macron want to make to the French pension system?
[spoiler]Macron is seeking to raise the minimum age that one can qualify for a French pension from 62 to 64. The government is also seeking a provision that a worker needs to have worked for at least 43 years to receive a full pension. Previous attempts to raise the pension age over the last several decades have caused large protests in the country, forcing other politicians to back off. Macron’s most recent attempt led to more than 750,000 turning out to march against the government’s proposal in various French cities. It is unclear whether these protests will block the most recent push for reform.
7. Which Caribbean nation said last week that it would take part in an international military intervention in Haiti?
Spoiler
Jamaica. Prime Minister Andrew Holness told Jamaican lawmakers that his government was prepared to deploy troops in Haiti, quell security issues there, and help the nation enact electoral reforms. Haiti has not held elections since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021 and no longer has any elected assemblies. The United Nations recommended that a “rapid action force” be sent to Haiti in October 2021 but no force has been assembled or acted so far.
8. According to the Democratic Party’s new primary calendar, what will be the first four states to vote in 2024?
Spoiler
South Carolina (February 3), Nevada (February 6), New Hampshire (February 6), and Georgia (February 13). The Democratic National Committee (DNC) unanimously approved the changes last week, reconfiguring a decades-old primary calendar that always started with the Iowa caucuses and was followed by New Hampshire. Democrats had complained for years that Iowa and New Hampshire were not representative of their party’s diverse coalition of voters, inspiring the change. Iowa and New Hampshire have said that they will not follow the schedule and the Republican Party is not going to follow the Democratic Party’s schedule either, creating an interesting environment for the next presidential election.
9. What is the new U.S. unemployment rate?
Spoiler
3.4%. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics last week, the U.S. economy added 517,000 jobs in January. This produces the lowest jobless rate since 1969. There is also evidence that Black workers, young workers, and people on the bottom of the income scale saw significant pay increases over the last year.
10. How big was the U.S. trade deficit in 2022?
Spoiler
According to the Department of Commerce, the U.S. trade deficit amounted to $948.1 billion last year, the largest total ever. The trade deficit rose 12.2% last year, evidence of a growing recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Much of the trade deficit was owed to American purchases of foreign machinery, medicines, industrial supplies, and car parts.
